'To the Netherlands'

Description

Poem written on a postcard, in which 'a Belgian refugee' thanks the Netherlands for its hospitality.

Context

From October 1914, no less than one million Belgian refugees fled to their neutral neighbour in the north, the Netherlands. While many returned home in 1915, 200,000 Belgians remained in the Netherlands until the end of the war. The poem illustrates the Belgians' gratitude for their Dutch hospitality. However, the large number of refugees did also lead to strained relations between the Belgians and the Dutch over issues such as food supply and housing. While Belgian soldiers were, in accordance with Dutch neutrality, disarmed and interned in POW camps like Amersfoort, Belgian citizens were held in 'Belgian camps' and with Dutch families.

Citation

Cultural Exchange in a Time of Global Conflict:Colonials, Neutrals and Belligerents during the First World War

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 291827.

The project ‘Cultural Exchange in a Time of Global Conflict: Colonials, Neutrals and Belligerents during the First World War’ is financially supported by the HERA Joint Research Programme Cultural Encounters (www.heranet.info) which is co-funded by AHRC, AKA, BMBF via PT-DLR, DASTI, ETAG, FCT, FNR, FNRS, FWF, FWO, HAZU, IRC, LMT, MHEST, NWO, NCN, RANNÍS, RCN, VR and The European Community FP7 2007-2013, under the Socio-economic Sciences and Humanities programme.